Waukesha, Wisconsin. On the night of May 30th, 2014, 12-year-old Payton Leutner was invited over for a sleepover with her 12-year-old friends Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser.
Payton thought the sleepover was to celebrate Morgan’s birthday, but she had no idea that Anissa and Morgan had planned for the night to go in a sinister direction.
While online one day, Anissa came across a website called Creepypasta, where people create and share their own horror stories.
One of the stories Anissa read was about Slenderman, a made-up man who appears extremely thin, tall, and dressed in a black suit.
Anissa showed Morgan the story, and the two girls got it into her heads that they needed to kill their friend Payton to be “worthy” of Slenderman, and then they would be allowed to live in his mansion with him.
Several months before the birthday sleepover, Anissa and Morgan talked over the details of what they were going to do to Payton.
They implemented code words, so if they were overheard, nobody would know what they were discussing.
When the night of the sleepover finally arrived, Anissa and Morgan were prepared. They would all go to sleep for the night, then wake up at 2 a.m. to take Payton’s life.
Facebook; pictured above is Payton
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That night, their gruesome plans changed several times, and then the duo convinced Payton to play a game of hide and seek with them outside in the woods.
Anissa instructed Payton on where she should hide while they were all out in the woods together playing the game, and then she pushed Payton down into the dirt.
Anissa sat on top of her while she screamed, and eventually, she let her go. Morgan then tackled Payton back down to the ground after she got up, and stabbed her 19 times all over her body.
Anissa and Morgan left Payton laying there, suffering from her numerous injuries, while they went off into the woods to try to find Slenderman.
Payton mustered all of her strength to drag herself out of the woods and onto a sidewalk nearby, where someone saw her and called 911 on May 31st.
“P.L. was found by a passerby lying, blood-soaked in the grass pleading for help,” an appeal filed for Morgan explains. “P.L. was stabbed 19 times in her chest, abdomen, arms and legs.”
Waukesha Police Department; pictured above is Morgan in her mugshot
Miraculously, Peyton survived, and when authorities questioned Anissa and Morgan, they confessed.
Morgan was charged with Attempted 1st-Degree Intentional Homicide but was found “Guilty but Not Guilty Due to Mental Disease/Defect.”
Anissa was charged with Attempt 2nd-Degree Intentional Homicide, but she was also found “Guilty but Not Guilty Due to Mental Disease/Defect.”
Morgan was sentenced to 40 years in a psychiatric hospital. “Court orders the defendant to be committed to the Department of Health Services for 40 YEARS commencing 2/1/18,” records from Morgan’s case state.
“Court further finds that conditional release would pose a significant risk of bodily injury to the defendant or others. Both the State and Defense stipulate to the institutional care. Court orders placement as Institutional Care.”
As for Anissa, she was also sentenced to a psychiatric hospital for a maximum of 25 years.
In a victim impact statement, Payton’s mom said, “The 19 stab wounds that Payton endured that day left 19 very visible scars on her arms, her legs, her hip, her torso, and her chest.”
“The nearly 6-hour surgery and other medical treatments to repair her heart, diaphragm, liver, stomach, and pancreas left 6 more scars.”
“Two of these scars span from just below her neck to just below her belly button. They are still red and angry more than 3 years later.”
Waukesha Police Department; pictured above is Anissa in her mugshot
“They tingle and ache and remind her of their presence every day. Things that should be a fun experience for a mother and daughter have become mired with reminders of her attack.”
“Shopping for homecoming dresses leaves only a few options because far too many dresses will show off her scars. Beach vacations are harsh reminders that swimsuits aren’t made for young girls with 25 scars.”
In the aftermath of the attack, Payton’s mom also noted that she slept with a pair of scissors underneath her pillow and refused to fall asleep unless she was right there with her.
Although Payton’s attackers were ordered to remain in a psychiatric hospital for many more years, Anissa was just released yesterday.
She’s now 19-years-old, and she feels she can be a productive member of society. The court recently found that Anissa does not pose “a substantial risk of harm to others, herself, or serious property damage.”
Morgan recently tried to appeal her case, but the court declined to hear it.
